The things we’ve achieved on grids, friends. Together we conquered threats to our Viking tribes in The Banner Saga, repelled xenomorph invasions in Into The Breach and many an XCOM, and if you’ll stretch the definition as far as hex tiles, played through human history in its entirety to a soundtrack of Sean Bean soundbytes. Thanks, Civ.
What we haven’t done to date, though, is relive the war stories of a veteran rabbit soldier—General Greycoat to you and me—in retrospective vignettes told to his granddaughter. You’ve got us there, Untamed Tactics. Those grids break new ground.
Tabletop game players might recognise developer Grumpy Owl Games as the creator of Untamed Feral Factions, a card battle game released after a successful Kickstarter which, by the way, informs not only the universe of anthropomorphised animals here but also one of its key mechanics.
Top of that list is parley, a break from the hacking and slashing in which two characters have a bit of a chinwag and settle their differences using good old fashioned conversation.
During a parley, three cards are drawn, offering different status effects on your opponent depending on their character. That adds a dimension to the kind of tactical turn-based combat offered elsewhere in the likes of The Banner Saga or The Iron Oath, as does the fact that everyone you’re locked in deadly combat with is… well, unsettlingly cute.
The ragtag band of weapon-toting woodland creatures under your command aren’t just set-dressing here, they’re major players in the story of General Greycoat’s fall from grace in the military and his subsequent journey to set up a community of free animals. Character events also crop up periodically and offer a chance to get to know them on a personal level, revealing their backstory and deepening their relationship to you. In return, a modest permanent stat boost to you—a little like completing a party member’s side quest in an old-school Baldur’s Gate-like.
It’s not all about completing the narrative, though. Adventure mode adds procedural elements to its entirely distinct campaign, so once you’ve seen the story through to completion you can use this mode to focus on honing your tactics and survival skills.
It’s a distinct microcosm of tactical RPGs, here among the wholesome forests and meadows where woodland critters fight for freedom. If the grimdark tone that tends to dominate the genre usually keeps you at arm’s length, General Greycoat and company would like you to know that they’re rather more approachable.
Untamed Tactics is scheduled for a mid-2023 release on Steam. You can wishlist the game via its Steam page.
